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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1907)
rHE Omaha Sunday Bee PART III. THE OMAHA DEE Best t'hn. West I1ALF-TCIIE SECTIOII PACES 1 TO VOL. XXXVII NO. 4. OMAIIA, SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 14, 1!)07. SIXULK COPY F1VH CKXTS. LOUIS GREBE YOUNGEST AMONG OttAHA PIONEERS OF '56 Story of a "Boy" Whose Fifty-One Years of Life Have All Been Spent in and Around Omaha in Active Work Connected With the Courts and the Law's Administration LOUIS GREBE la El'years and 3 month old. He Has lived In Omaha fifty-one years and one momh. He Is the young est of the living pioneers of Douglas county. That Is only one of his claims to special distinction. Another is that he knows practically everybody in the county, and who does not know "Louie" Grebe, district court bailiff and terror of crim inals and evildoers for nearly thirty years? Whose spirit has not been cheered with his perpetual good humor and optimism? "I.oule" is an apostle of good'theer, a messenger of Joy. a winged Mercury of happiness, a dispenser of light and airy persiflage that cheers but does not wound. Bluegrass, Scott county, Iowa, is the town whic h claims to. be Mr. Grebe's birthplace and there are no other towns to dispute the honor. The. date was April 18, 1856. (It will be observed that this was precisely a half century before the great San Francisco earth quake, which occurred April 18, 190G.) Apparently the child was a prodigy even from birth. In his extreme youth he cast a prophetic eye toward the west and gravely advised his parents that Nebraska was the land of oportunity. When he hud reached the mature age of six weeks he bade his parents get ready and follow him across the plains to where Jhe great Missouri pours its turbid waters toward the eouth. And his rarents, never doubting his wisdom for a moment, followed him. Down the clear 'Mississippi river they went to St. Louis. There they took another boat and steamed for days up the muddy Missouri until they arrived at a busy settlement on the west bank of the river. There young. Grebe advised his parents to tarry, and there they left the boat. It was the infant settlement of Flor ence. The above is a sample of Mr. Grebe's light and airy persiflage. Translated it means that his parents came to Nebraska in 1856. They settled in Florence June It, 1856, and there Orebe, pere, built a home with lumber whlrh he had purchased in St. louis and brought up on the boat. One Incident Grebe, fils, relates with gusto, though he points out that he lias It only on Iteresay, to use a court ex pression. His mother, he says, had allowed him to get too much of the damp river air and when the boat arrived at Nebraska City, Grebe, fils, was very ill. Theroup6n Grebe, pere, had to walk tea miles down the river to a place where a doctor lived and where pare goric abounded. "In all my adventures with criminals, I don't believe I ever came as near getting. killed," saya Mr. Grebe, "as I did that time. My father told me often that he had the biggest kind of notion to throw me into the river because I was so much bother." Played With Pappooses' As soon as the Grebe home was finished the family moved from its temporary abode at the Willett house to the little shack. The elder Grebe opened a wagon shop and from this source he had a good Income. For those were the days of the Mormon migration nnd there were thousands of the faithful In Florence every day dur ing the season. They arrived there from the east footsore; and they rested. They arrived with wagons nnd pushcarts dilapi dated and broken; and they had them repaired at the Grebe Wagon and Carriage shops. He did a thriving business. Louie grew into a toddling youngster and his favorite companions were the little brown papooses of the Indians whose tepees were only a hundred yards distant. "I used to be afraid of white boys," he says. Whan I saw one coming I'd run with all my might. But I wasn't a "bit scared of the little Indians. We used to have all kinds of fun, even playing at war with each other." ' In 1860 the Mormon migration was over. There wera no more wagons and pushcarts to be repaired. Omaha was forging rapidly ahead of her northern rival. Then the wagon builder decided to move. He did so In February, 1860, renting a building which stood on the site cf what is now 1414 Douglas street. He conducted his wagon shop in the front of the building, while the family occupied the rear as a home. He remained In the same business all his life, though he was honored with many high offices. He was a member of the territorial legislature four terms, city treasurer of Florence, member of the Omaha council, sheriff of Douglas county from 1869 to 1873. He was also a deputy sheriff for more than fifteen years. His death occurred In 1894. Louie grew up In Omaha, helping his father in the shop, going to school and laying the foundation of his broad and cosmopolitan acquaintance with citizens. As a boy he was one of the town's enthuslatslc base ball players. He was pitcher for the "Resolutes" In 1873 and 1874. This team was the third in the state to boast uniforms, the "Clippers" and the "Elkhorns" having preceded them In this distinction. Young Grebe was one of the. wit nesses of that awful base ball slaughter when the Red Stockings of Cincinnati crossed bats with the Omaha at the old state fair grounds in 1869. The result was a score of 60 to 1 In favor of the visitors. Pitcher Fay of the Omaha made the solitary scor. I . , ;. ... . ' , v v.: A'- - ht: .-'''' I ' ,; sp ' ' ::v LOUIS GREBH. Some Boyhood Memories Mr. Grebe saya that with all his hustling he never moved so faBt as be did on one occasion in 1868. He was one of the spectators at a fight between a bear and a bull which was arranged in the fall of that year to taka place at the present Intersection of Twenty-third atreet and Capitol avenue. But instead of attacking the bull, "Grlz ily Joe," tha bear, ran for the spectators, who melted away before him. He was captured at Florence lake by Mexican Sam, a "cow puncher" employed by George W. Forbea. Another sporting event of the early daya which, he remembers is the prize fight between Steve Watson and Sam Moore. Tha.men fought continuously for fifteen mtnutei and than Moore was knocked out. He was hauled away by ei-Shrtvt Sam Reevea In a farm wagon to the creek beyond the fighting ground and there brought back to life. This fight took place on tha west part of what la aow the high school grouilds. The articles were signed and tha purse waa hung up at the Club saloon on Fifteenth street between Farnam and Douglaa streets. After young Grebe completed his education at the high school he worked for a time In his father's shop. Later he entered the Union Pacific ahopa and learned the trade of machinist, at which he worked for several year. Then began bis career In the courts when he was appointed bailiff by Judge Eleazer Wakeley and Judge Neville, who occupied tha district bench at that time. He was a bailiff for more than twenty years. During that time he had charge of some Juries on noted cases, including that of John Iauer, who was accused of killing his wife at Twenty-sixth and Douglas streets; also that of Libbie Beecher, who killed Henry King at the Paxton hotel In 1888. It was while he was bailiff in Judge Wakeley'e court that ha took unto htmself a wife. This event occurred June 11, 1889, and the lady was Miss Nona Reeves, whose parents were also pioneers of Florence. An indication of the esteem in which he was held is tha fact that a purse of $175 waa given him as a wedding present by the judges, bailiffs, lawyers and clerka with whom he was asso ciated iu his dally duties. Arrangements had been made on this occasion to have Mr. Grebe arraigned before the court on the charge of "getting married." A mock trial waa to be held, at the conclusion of which Louie was to be sentenced to accept the pursa of $175. But, the newspapers of the Jay relate, two long-winded lawyers took IP the noon hour with argument on a small case and therefore the rraignment had to ba dispensed with. In Pursuit of Criminals How he ever came to be a hounder of criminals, Louie scarcely knows. It always had an attraction for him, he says. He may have inherited the taste from his father, who served so long as sheriff and deputy. At all events he has been a faithful and efficient offi cer of the law. He has been a terror to criminals and a swift Nemesis upon the trail of such as have violated the laws of man. It is his proud , boast that he has never come back without his man hen he set out to secure him. lie arretted John Q. Thomas on February :9, 1 S 90. Thomas was wanted for the murder of a conductor on the Toulsvllle &. Nashville railroad; also for stabbing three other men. A special agent tracked the desperado to Florence and to a log house out In the woods half a mile west of the town. Thither he went with the special agent. Carefully concealing his star of office and his weapon he approached the door of the cabin. He knew hie man the moment the door was opened. He asked whether he wanted work chopping wood. "But Thomas declined the proffered job. He had work, he said. Grebe gave a signal to the special agent, he ap peared and they made a rush for Thomas. After a terrific struggle they threw him to the floor and clapped the bracelets on him. Luke Simpson and his accomplice, Rose, were two more of Grebe's victims. They were suspected of robbing a store In Whiting, la. Grebe found two trunks filled with silks and other valuable mer chandise at the Webster street depot. He laid In wait until Simpson came to have the trunks removed. Then he captured him and turned him over to the sheriff In Onawa. Then he took a rig and drove to Decatur, where he captured Rose. Tn his house he found goods which had been the pro eriy of a Decatur merchant whose store had been burned the same night as the robbery In Whiting. The coolest man in accepting his fate when the strong arm of the law, represented by Deputy Sheriff Grebe, waa laid upon him was Jeff Haywood, colored. He was charged with murder in Denver. In spite of the fact that he had a stiff neck and was therefore easy to Identify, he escaped the authorities for many months. Finally word came that he was In Omaha. Grebe was put on the case. He found by an underground means that he was a waiter at a local hotel. The officer went to the hotel and had no difficulty In getting speech with the man. "You are under arrest," said Grebe, as he clapped the handcuffs on the fellow. The colored man looked be wildered for a moment. Then he exclaimed: "Ah sure done ought to knowed better'n stay here. Ah jest felt something gwlne to hap pen 'cause Ah done lost mah rabbit foot last night." Mr. Grebe served Vucle Sam as a special deputy United States marshal under United States Marshal Frank White during the Coxey army agitation in 1894. This was the time of the country's most distressful Industrial plight. Factories were shut down everywhere; business failures had reached an unprecedented height. The army of the unemployed had never been so M;; before. It was, moreover, a great time for the Industrial ami politic.il agitator. Yellow newspapers bristled with articles rpcaktng with an amazina; adjective display of "blankets of mortgages smothering the little flame of life so tenderly nurtured by a million men upon our bound less plains," "millions of acres irreclalmnbly In the grasp of hireling aliens," "children starving at the breasts of half-dead mothers; strong men, frantic with horror, begging fruitlessly for bread." l ' Scattering an Army At this crisis the Idea of Coxey had been hatched. It was tha materialization of the theory that the world owes a living to all men. It was an Industrial revolution, which only lacked size and strength to overturn the existing form of government. "Why," asked the leaders in the movement, "nre the producers of food hun gry? Why do the makers of clothing go in raps, and why do the builders of palaces live In hovels?" And the obvious answer was that the masses were being oppressed by the classes. Then came the political Moses to load the people out of the Kgypt of bondage and of oppression. It is well remembered still how the armies rose from all parts of the country, from Maine to California, and set out on their march toward Washington. Their demand was three fold, namely: Government employment for unemployed citizens, prohibition of Immigration for a period of tin years and prohibition of aliens from owning land. It was with a detachment of this army which set out from Denver that Mr. Grebe had to do In his capacity of deputy United States marshal. "These follows had started from Denver in boats at the time when the river was high," says Mr. Grebe. "They had built a lot of light boats, Intending to float down the river to Kansas City. But when they were passing a railroad bridge near Sterling the boats struck some barbed wire which was strung across and spilled them all out and lost the boats. Then they walked to Julesburg, and they were good and tired when they got there. They tried to take a train of freights there, and that's what called us out, because the Union Pacific was In the hands of a receiver then, and there fore it was Uncle Sam's duty, you see, to protect it from' any law lessness. Well, they hurried us out to Julesburg, and there we were eating dinner one day when the word come for us to drop our knives and forks and hike to Big Springs in a special car. We did so and surprised the army and arreBted them. There were about 280 In the detachment. They were taken to Fort Sidney, nnd there we turned them loose, about ten of them every day, sending them in different directions, so as to get them scattered." Other Official Duties Mr. Grebe was the chief of police of the Douglas county fair for fen consecutive years, and in 1894 he was chief of the blue coats at the state fair. Among the gruesome duties which have devolved upon him during his career was the hanging of Ed Neil, who had cheerfully murdered an aged couple west of Seymour lake In order that he might drive their stock to South Omaha and sell It. Mr. Grebe selected the lumber, constructed the engine of death and then purchased the fatal hempen cord from a man in Cincinnati who manufactured rope, for the especial and exclusive purpose of hanging wicked men. Mr. Grebe declares that the weeks preceding this event were terrible ones for him. He was haunted even la his dreams with visions of the work. Hi3 appetite failed and he says he got down almoBt to a diet of bird seed. It was alao his duty to assist at several other similar functions. After his long career in dealing with bad men, Mr. Grebe thinks the methods of Sherlock Holmes are useful only for the purposes of fiction. "They're no good in running down a real man, he says. "You might strike It right that way aud then again you might not. I always Just went out and hunted for my man and inquired every where, and I always got him Just as sure as Sherlock Holmes ever did. aud never made half as much noise about it." Mr. Grebe's last official position was that of messenger under County Judge Slabaugh. It was his duty then to look up all caws of murder and burglary and other evil dolus and law breaking. He held this position until the close of .ludgo Slabaugh's term, the first of this year. Since then he has been In tho real estate businens. He now resides In Florence, having moved out there a year ago, Mr. and Mrs. Grebe have two children, a daughter, Maude, and a son, Howard. The latter Is an electrician iu the employ of the street railway company. Mr. Grebe has been a member of Beech camp No. 1 454, Modern Woodmen of America, for seventeen years. He wiw a member of Omaha's volunteer fire department for ten years. He has two brothers, Henry and Theodore, both of whom are citizens of Omaha, Vacation Time Spent at Home Aay Be Pleasant PEOPLE who have acquired the summer va cation habit and are obliged to forego the customary outing can extract some com fort and content from the calm philosophy of one of their number whose resourceful ness and skill in making home take on a summery vacation atmosphere commands two columns of detail and commendation In the New York Even ing Post. The action of the story revolves around the wife. Her husband is around somewhere, though Invisible. In spite of her yearning for aut-of-door life and the allurements of the coast, the lakes and mountains, she contends that It Is possible, with a "little Ingenuity and artifice," to transform the six rooms of her modest apartment and the resources of the city Into a fair substitute for any one of the three, the only essentials for the trans formation being Imagination and a contented spirit "Bawn and bred," not tn Br'er Rabbit's brier patch, but in a slumberous, elm-shaded vil lage, where summer meant a garden gay with posies and a round dozen of dimity frocks to wear when sitting on tha front porch with a party of Jolly friends, it was a bit disconcerting when the first summer of married life found business In such condition that no vacation was possible for her husband. But she had a good deal of Br'er Rabbit's resourcefulness afld his cheerful accept ance of a situation, no matter how bad. and she stuck to her post gallantly, and won out with honors. Just how she did It Is partly her own secret, but some of her methods are known to her friends, and have been helpful to others In Ilka case. Naturally, the most essential thing for com fort in hot weather is a cool house in which to live, and the secret of having such a house she had learned from her mother. The average woman believes that the best way to keep her house cool Is to throw open all windows and leave them open during the day, thus allowing the hot sun to pour in and the hot air to All the house. But that this method Is Ineffective is too often proved by the stuffy rooms and heat-laden atmos phere. A better way is the one substituted by the woman who had learned by the wisdom of her elders. After a thorough airing of the entire apart ment, at about 9 o'clock, when the first shafts of sunlight began to pour Into her bed room win dows, she closed every window tight, first lower ing the awnings, then pulling down both light aud dark shades. How often she sighed for the heavy green outside shutters of her old home! Tbey had been so effective In keeping out the heat. Now she had shut In the cool morning air and shut out the hot sun, and her apartment was well aired and twilight dark until nearly 6. when she opened wide every window. Many times a day she wished that the man of the house was working In the moderate temperature of his own apartment, in stead of In the glare of a wide-open office. But, at least, he could come home at 4 to the quiet, shaded coolness, more delightful even, by contrast. After securing freedom from heat, another requisite of pleasant living was attractive, summery-looking rooms. Nothing is simpler if you have good taste, for luckily for those not possessed of the purse of Fortunatus, It means. In brief, do ing without things, or substituting cheap for ex pensive furnishings. All draperies came down, save protecting white cheesecloth curtains In bath and bed rooms; heavy rugs were packed away In tar paper and matting substituted. Linen covers went over chairs and couches, and this was the only Item Involving much expenditure. But, as everyone knows, once bought they last a lifetime. One thing one model summer housewife did not do. She absolutely refused to swathe the pictures and chandeliers In mosquito netting, after the fashion of some ultra-fastidious housekeepers. To enjoy one's apartment summer resort to best advantage the wise contend that you must dispense with the services of a maid and have no cooked meals in the house. Breakfast in summer la always a light meal In our typical instance, fruit. Iced canteloupe or red raspberries are ain brobla on a hot morning, a cold cereal, with fresh rolls and coffee. If anyone Insists, were ail that were needed to provide a delicious, satisfying, healthful meal. Luncheon did not figure, for, with the men of tTTe family out of the way, mere woman can content herself with small pickings and be happy. Dinner was a movable feaBt. Sometimes a tea room In the next blojk was their happy hunting ground; at others a downtown restaurant tempted them with Iced consomme and delhious salads; and again, were the evening un usually warm, the family cook hsd selzad the op portunity to prepare dinner at home. A cold roast, done In the early morning, a vegetable, salad, and Ices from the nearest caterer were the component parts of many an evening's meal. The crafty woman becomes adept In the preparations of cold, alluring drinks, If she Is desirous of ca tering to the pet tastes of her men folk. A candle-lighted drawing room and the tinkle of ice In tall glasses are aa effective as a chafing-dish and a wood Are for promoting conversations. With cold tea as a basis, and lemons, citrons, raspberry vinegar, grape Juice, oranges and some cucumber rind, fresh mint, ginger ale and lots and -lots of Ice, a score of delightful combinations are possi ble, and the labor involved is very slight. Being housekeeper and maid both, even If the housekeeping is light, Involves some work, and some planning so that the work shall not come in the heat of the day. Seven o'clock rising for the housekeeper In a small family made It possible to have breakfast over, dishes washed, beds made and marketing done by 9 o'clock. Then an hour more un special days, when any cooking was re quired, meant a holiday until 5 or 6. Of course this implies that all laundry work is taken out of the house and that the weekly heavy cleaning is doue by a special arrangement. Marketing early means also getting the best of the day's supplies at the green grocer's. But no corner table under an electric fan in a famous restaurant, no dim drawing room, no cool dining room, can ever hope to equal In at tractiveness on a hot day a comfortable bath room. Any bath room will do, but there are bath rooms and bathrooms. A shower bath is, bs all odds the most deslrablo feature, aud a needle ppray for . hot weather soul-satlsfylng In the extreme. A huge bottle of eau-de-cologne should be a promi nent feature, and one of the large Japanned pow der boxes, with a huge puff and a generous supply of powder, will be a grateful addition. To combine comfort and taste requires no llttls planning. One wardrobe was so well thought out that It is worth recording, for it Is not impossible for the average woman. There were three simple coat suita, a white mohair, a tan linen and blue rajah silk. Soma pretty shirtwaists, and two linen skirts, three plain morning dresses of lawn and one rather elaborate, white prlnresse gown of batiste and lace gave the owner the proper garb for every possible occasion In her unassuming position. A white sailor, an embroidered linen hat, a close toque, her best ppring confection, and a white leghorn with her winter plume, made an Imposing array, and she boasted six pairs of tie? In wlhte, tan and black. So shopping in summer may. be a profitable, money-saving amusement To start downtown at 9, walk Munrely through the shops, lunch, then rest in u department stort parlor, in a big ( hair, before start in? home, li neither fatiguing nor hot, and most women nnver know the Joy of it for shopping Is usually either a mad search for tho untitiainable or an attempt to do forty errands in as many minutes. If a contented spirit is to be one of the assets needed to make summer in town endurable and enjoyable, then thero is one thing the experienced woman will warn you away. from. By all meant- do not dwell upon the joys you are nih.sins by not being In the country. Even a glance nt the news paper columns of summer resort arrivals and de partures, and chronicles of good times, may upset an excellent equilibrium. Tempt ini; they are in deed, most tempting, but if one must, she can, and It is the better part of contentment to discreetly eschew all such literature it bhe caunot buys to share in the happy times.